Which stars had the biggest year? All this week, we'll be unveiling our Top 9 men and women of 2009, counting down to the #1 man and woman on Friday.

5. Lil Wayne

His name should be "Mammoth Wayne." Lil Wayne is going into 2010 just like he went into 2009: on top of the music game. MTV News' 2008 Man of the Year's star is so huge and shines so bright that he's remained a entertainment focal point — breaking touring records for a hip-hop act despite not releasing Rebirth, his much delayed follow-up to last year's Tha Carter III. The New Orleans Fireman was more popular than most artists who boasted #1 albums; with hit singles, an endless string of guest appearances, introducing rap's hottest new clique and dropping another classic mixtape.

2009 Highlights: Staying humble but still riding high off of his 2008 Man of the Year win, Wayne sideswiped a [article id="1602481"]potential rap battle with 50 Cent[/article] by refusing to engage the G-Unit General, but continuing to do what put in him a preeminent position: make music and perform it for the people. His [article id="1603023"]I Am Music Tour[/article] with the likes of T-Pain and Keri Hilson was a huge critical and commercial success. But Wayne's biggest live show would happen in February at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. [article id="1604568"]Weezy, Jay-Z, Kanye and T.I.[/article] stole the program with a historic performance of "Swagga Like Us" only for Wayne to return to the same stage later to [article id="1604574"]rep for his hometown with "Tie My Hands."[/article] Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys and left with three, including Best Hip-Hop Album.

TOP 9 MEN OF THE YEAR

9. [article id="1628123"]Eminem[/article]

8. [article id="1628152"]Drake[/article]

7. [article id="1628246"]Kanye West[/article]

6. [article id="1628293"]Robert Pattinson[/article]

5. [article id="1628329"]Lil Wayne[/article]

4. [article id="1628370"]Taylor Lautner[/article]

3. [article id="1628412"]Adam Lambert[/article]

2. [article id="1628488"]Jay-Z[/article]

1. [article id="1628515"]Michael Jackson[/article]

February was also a pivotal month in that his musical collaborator and Young Money clique member, Drake, released the mixtape So Far Gone. Drake, our [article id="1628152"]#8 Man of the Year[/article] nominee, went on to be the hip-hop rookie of the year with two hit singles and two Grammy nominations. Drake [article id="1614953"]officially became a Young Money artist[/article] in late June. Wayne took his entire camp — which includes another budding rap star, Nicki Minaj — out on tour this summer for the America's Most Wanted Music Festival. That outing and his I Am Music Tour earned a combined record-breaking tally of over $42 million.

Outside of music, Wayne had plenty to keep him busy. BCD Music Group, an independent distribution company based in Texas, put him in the middle of a [article id="1608447"]lawsuit against mixtape king DJ Drama[/article], while Wayne was in full support of a lawsuit to [article id="1609801"]stop the distribution of the documentary "Tha Carter"[/article], which was produced by QD3. In yet another lawsuit, Wayne sued producer Mali Boi for failing to clear a sample of singer Karma-Ann Swanepoel's "Once." The folk singer sued Wayne for copyright infringement for use of "Once" on Wayne's "I Feel Like Dying." Of course, Wayne's most troubling court proceedings dealt with his gun-possession case. In October, the acclaimed performer [article id="1624434"]pleaded guilty to gun possession[/article]. Weezy is scheduled for sentencing in February, where he is expected to receive one year in jail.

Despite impending prison time, Wayne's appeal has reached well into the mainstream. He's had guest appearances on tracks from Madonna to Drake to Cash Money member Jay Sean. Weezy also appeared on ESPN multiple times (also serving as a celebrity blogger for the sports channel), went [article id="1604112"]bowling with Katie Couric[/article] for a primetime special and had his own "Behind the Music" episode.

As 2009 came to an end, Wayne — who [article id="1622981"]came in second[/article] on MTV News' Hip-Hop Brain Trust's Hottest MCs List — dropped his impeccable No Ceilings mixtape. The free CD was meant as a thank-you to all the fans who supported him throughout the year. Meanwhile, as Wayne gears up for the release of the We Are Young Money LP on December 21, he's still drumming up attention for Rebirth — [article id="1628277"]"Drop the World," featuring Eminem[/article], was just leaked to the Net Monday.

Which stars had the biggest 2009? Over the next week, we'll be unveiling our top nine most newsworthy, controversial and fascinating men and women of the year. We based our list on factors like music sales, box-office performance, MTVNews.com headlines and traffic, overall reach (crossover singles, appearances in movies, licensing of songs for commercials, clothing lines, etc.), plus X-factors like "impact" and "buzz." (And no, President Barack Obama didn't make the list — we'll leave that to the folks at Time.) This is by no means an exact science, but we think the list we've put together represents the men and women who helped make 2009 the most exciting and memorable 12 months in recent history.

We'll be rolling out our list of the Top 9 Men and Women of 2009 two per day until Friday, when we unveil MTV News' Man and Woman of the year! As always, we also want to know what you think, so weigh in with comments below, or upload them to Your.MTV.com!